Calling all Directors and PSCs: Are you ready to confirm your identity?

Companies House has now started to implement one of the most significant changes to how companies, and the people who control them, operate with Companies House: identity verification. From today, company directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) can verify their identity on a voluntary basis. 

Although identity verification is not yet compulsory, existing and new directors and PSCs may choose to verify their identity at Companies House to get ahead of the upcoming legal requirement to do so. You can verify your identity directly with Companies House free of charge through the Verify your identity for Companies House service, which directs users to the most suitable method of verification for them (online via a web browser, a mobile phone app or in person at a post office). Another option is to use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) which offers verification services. The government has issued some guidance on each method of verification.

Timing for implementation of compulsory verification is not yet certain, but Companies House has stated it is their intention that:

• By autumn 2025, Companies House should be able to:
  • make identity verification a mandatory part of incorporation and new appointments for new directors and PSCs; and
  • as part of the annual confirmation statement filing by companies, begin the 12-month transition phase to carry out the mandatory verification of the identity of existing directors and PSCs registered at Companies House. 
• By spring 2026, Companies House should be able to make identity verification of those filing documents on behalf of companies mandatory and require third party agents filing on behalf of companies to be registered as an ACSP.
• By the end of 2026, Companies House should be able to complete the transition period for mandatory identity verification and start compliance activity against individuals who have failed to verify their identity.

This change arises from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023), a statute adopted by the government to reform company law in an attempt to prevent organised criminals, fraudsters, and terrorists from abusing the UK's open economy. There are additional reforms set out in the ECCTA 2023, such as restrictions on corporate directors, which are yet to be adopted.